BANGOR – The routes to the Eastern Maine Class D semifinals were decidedly different for No. 3 Katahdin of Stacyville and No. 2 Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.

The Katahdin Cougars had to sweat one out before emerging victorious Saturday night and the Panthers looked like they barely worked up a sweat while cruising to an emphatic win.

In a game of runs, lead changes, drama, and more potential game-changing, momentum-switching plays than can be adequately cataloged here, the Cougars survived – barely – and pulled out a 65-64 victory over No. 6 Washburn at the Bangor Auditorium. In the other quarterfinal, the No. 2 Panthers sprinted out to a 14-2 lead en route to a 73-43 win over No. 7 Deer Isle-Stonington.

The 17-3 Cougars will take on 19-1 Central Aroostook for the third time in a 2 p.m. Thursday semifinal. Washburn’s Beavers wind up 14-6 and the Mariners finish 11-7.

In the first game, the Cougars ran off 14 unanswered points late in the first period and early in the second, but then watched their 23-15 lead shrink to 25-23 via a 6-0 Washburn run. Washburn used a 13-2 run in the third to go up 38-31 before Katahdin tied things with a 9-2 run.

The game remained tight until Katahdin scored six straight to make it 65-58 with 1:46 left. Just as the Cougars threatened to ice it, the Beavers bit back with a whirlwind rally.

Washburn’s Jason Thompson’s shot from the low post made it 65-60 with 1:35 to go and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but his teammates forced Katahdin’s first turnover of the second half and he scored again on a pull-up jumper at the high post with 47 seconds left. Three seconds later, Thompson stole the ball and scored on a layup to make it 65-64.

With 23.5 seconds left, Thompson was fouled, but missed the 1-and-1. Chris Pesut rebounded the miss, but missed the put-back. Thompson grabbed the rebound, but his shot wouldn’t fall either. On the other end, Katahdin’s Brian Sullivan was fouled, but he missed his 1-and-1 with 141/2 ticks to go.

Then it really got intense. Cougar guard Patrick Willett – all 5 feet, 10 inches of him – blocked 6-foot freshman Adam Thompson’s shot, but Jason Thompson grabbed the rebound. Jason Thompson drew a shooting foul with 4.8 seconds left, but missed both shots. Katahdin’s Jordan Davis got the rebound, but Washburn pressure gave the Beavers one last chance as the ball bounced loose and out of bounds.

With 1.7 seconds left, Adam Thompson inbounded the ball to Jason Thompson on the left wing. Willett nearly stripped the ball free, but Jason Thompson got the shot off. The shot bounced off the rim as time expired.

“We’re fortunate to get out of this,” said Katahdin coach Bill McAvoy. “This is the first time my hands have ever shaken and I’ve been coaching for 30-something years.”

Sullivan led Katahdin with 24 points and seven rebounds.

“That was too close for me,” said Sullivan, who also dished out three assists. “We should have put it away earlier, but we fell apart. I guess the pressure was getting to us.”

Willett finished with 20 points and six assists.

Jason Thompson had 27 points and six rebounds. Pesut had 15 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists. Zach Bird had 10 points, five rebounds, and six assists.

In the second game, Bryan Grew had a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists to pace the Panthers.

Andrew York had 18 points and eight rebounds, Patrick Walsh had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Jason Woodworth scored 11 for CAHS.

Josh Eaton led the Mariners with 11 points. Shane Eaton had eight points and six boards while Jeff Douglass had eight points and five rebounds.

Nick Ciomei left the game late in the third period with a sprained ankle after a loose-ball collision at halfcourt.

COUGARS 65, BEAVERS 64

Washburn (14-6) Katahdin (17-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Bigbee 1 2 0 0 2 Grass 0 4 0

C.Pesut 6 9 3 4 15 Willett 8 13 20

Goupille 1 4 2 2 4 Cyr 3 9 8

A.Thompson 2 9 0 0 4 Davis 2 5 4

J.Thompson 13 20 1 7 27 Sullivan 9 16 4 7 24

S.Pesut 1 3 0 0 2 McAvoy 0 2 2

Bird 4 8 1 2 10 McCarthy 3 7 7

Hunt 0 0 0 0 0 Rush 0 0 0 0

J.Qualey 0 0 0

Totals 28 55 7 15 64 25 56 10 18 65

Washburn 15 30 48 64

Katahdin 17 29 47 65

3-pt. goals ? Washburn (1-7): Bird 1-4, Goupille 0-1, A. Thompson 0-2; Katahdin (5-19): Sullivan 2-3, Cyr 2-7, Willett 1-4, McAvoy 0-2, Grass 0-3

PANTHERS 73, MARINERS 43

DI-Stonington (11-7) Central Aroostook (19-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Cousins 1 2 0 0 2 Martinez 1 3

N.Ciomei 1 2 0 0 2 J.Clockedile 0 1

Allen 0 0 0 0 0 McLaughlin 1 2

Billings 0 0 0 0 0 York 6 9 18

Robbins 1 4 2 2 4 S.Clockedile 0 0

L.Ciomei 1 2 0 2 2 Grew 10 18 25

J.Douglass 3 8 2 2 8 Carlson 0 9 0

B.Ciomei 1 5 2 3 4 Woodworth 3 11

Parker 1 2 0 0 2 Hallet 0 3 0

S.Eaton 3 13 2 2 8 Walsh 5 7 13

J.Eaton 4 13 2 2 11 Crew 0 2 0

McCartney 0 0 0

Larrabee 0 0 0

Totals 16 51 10 13 43 Totals 26 67 13 19 73

DI-Stonington 8 20 35 43

Central Aroostook 22 41 55 73

3-pt. goals ? DI-Stonington (1-4): J. Eaton 1-3, S. Eaton 0-1; Central Aroostook (8-15): York 3-3, Grew 3-5, Martinez 1-1, Woodworth 1-3, J. Clockedile 0-1, Hallet 0-2